Box Containing The Seven
by InstantBoredHouseWife
Summary: An evil creature protects the box containing the Seven Deadly Sins. Melissandre is the heir to the box. She is enthralled by the beauty and the essence of the box. Can she do the right thing and get rid of the box before she releases them into the world in their purest forms?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"It would bring grave danger if anybody were to find this box." A man carrying a torch down a long marble corridor whispered to a man behind him.

"Imagine the wrong people getting their hands on this." He whispered back hoping and praying that no one was listening or following them. What they were doing could get them both killed.

The corridor was long and dark. The torch was dim so no one would think anything was out of ordinary just someone walking to their room or to the nearest bathroom. The man holding the box looked down at it. He thought it was a gorgeous box, it vibrated with power. He knew it was evil and contained horrible things. The box looked like a miniature chest, it had a lock on the front of it. It was black with gold designs on it. There was jewels decorating the top with gold lines flowing and connecting each gem in a way. There was a Amethyst, Swiss Blue Topaz, Peridot, Spessartite Garnet, Blue Sapphire, Citrine Quartz, and a Ruby.

Their feet were barely making any noise for fear that they would wake the master of the house. They finally came to a stop in front of a floor to ceiling painting. It was a painting of a man sitting upon a horse he was missing half of his leg due to a lion eating it. Both men looked around paying close attention to the shadows, they were making sure that no one was following or listening to them. The man with the torch started to run his hands along the frame. He was looking for a lever. The lever was hidden to the naked eye. He finally hit and the picture gave a little "GASP" as musky air leaked out of a slit in the wall. The man with the torch passed it off to the guy with the box, he pushed the picture open with all his strength. The man carrying both things walked into the opening in the wall first. The next guy stepped in and grabbed the handle and pulled it closed. He then retrieved the torch and started forward.

The walls were covered in dirt and grim. It was almost suffocating how closed in there were with two inches between them standing side by side. Spiders, beetles, and other insects scurried below their feet.

"Are you positive that no one knows this is here?" Asked the guy holding the box. The box seemed to be giving off its own array of light.

"Yes." The guy with the torch answered.

The tunnel they were walking through was a maze. It turned every which way. The guy holding the box didn't know how the guy in front of him knew where he was going. He had to have searched this place before they brought the box here. He heard a faint noise, a noise that you wouldn't hear unless you were concentrating.

"Did you hear that?" The man holding the box asked.

"No." The guy holding the torch answered. He was being very short trying to remember the way to go so they wouldn't get lost and die before hiding the box.

The guy holding the torch came to a stop. He held the torch out in front to show concrete steps. The darkness below seemed so much darker than the darkness they were in now. The guy started down the steps. The guy with the box stopped he looked down into the blackness. Fear pulsed through him. Should they really go down there?

"Are you sure we need to go down there? We are pretty far in here nobody knows this hear. We should just leave it here." He called to the other man who was halfway down the stairs. He turned around and looked at him.

"I would rather be safe than sorry on this matter. If the wrong people got a hold of that box... Well you don't even want to know what will happen.

If you aren't going to come down I will do it myself." He said and started up the stairs. When he reached the guy he held his hand out for the box. The man clutched the box closer to him. He took a deep breath and walked down the stairs.

The temperature dropped as they descended the stairs. The could make out their breath in the darkness. The torch barely helped them see an inch in front of them. When they reached the bottom of the steps they took a second to listen to their surroundings. They heard the scuttling of the bugs that nested down there. One noise caught them off guard, they couldn't quite make sense of it but it was unhuman and unearthly. It shook them to their core. They walked deeper into the darkness. They both walked into a wall.

"Here. We are going to leave it here."

The guy with the box bent down and placed the box on the ground. The light it had given off seemed to disappear when he stopped touching it. All he wanted to do was hold it again. He stood up straight and both men turned around.

When they turned around there was a creature an inch away from their face. It was completely white with ice blue eyes. It seemed to be floating above the ground.

"Ouch." It screeched at them and in a flick of it's arm it sent the torch flying to the ground and in that time they caught small glimpses of corpses on the ground. The torch was extinguished immediately. Both men screamed. The creature screamed back at them. The stood there frozen in fear.

"What did you bring me?" It screeched at them. It swiftly floated between leaving a gust of cold air to hit them in the face.

"A box." The man who had carried it down there..

"A pretty box. Pretty, pretty Box. All the horrible things you hide inside." It screeched in pleasure as it bent down to get the box. The creature sat down with it's knees up to it's chest as he held the box.

Both men got the same idea at the same time. They both slowing started backing away from where they thought the creature was. The man who had been carrying the torch tripped over something making a loud thud. The other man could here the creature cut through the air as it reached the other man. It bent him half backwards. The his heels were touching the back of his head. The other man heard all the bones break in his companions body. He started to sob. He knew he was not going to get of their alive.

"Why would you want to leave me? Why would you want to leave such a pretty box." It screeched getting closer to him. He felt the coldness of the creature as it started to touch him.

"Tears!" The creature sniffed at his face.

"They reek of fear and grief." It licked the tears off his face. He turned to run away but before he could even take a step the creature snapped his neck.

The creature floated back to the box. It got into the same position it had been in before the men had tried to escape. He started to slowing stroke it as if he was petting a cat.

"Pretty. Pretty. Pretty box. Oh yes. I know of the horrible things. Yes. Horrible horrible things. Oh no, never. I'll protect you box. I'll keep you safe. Oh yes pretty pretty box. I will do as you command." It screeched to the box as if it was talking to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Melisandre looked up at the three story mansion that was passed down to her from her parents. The mansion had been in her family for generations dating back three centuries or more. Melisandre had many good and bad memories at her new home. Her parents had passed away in a freak accident at the mansion. Rumors had circulated around that something evil lived in the house, because the passed three owners died after living there more than three years.

When Melisandre moved into the house she had just turned eighteen, finished out her senior year, and then she moved away to college. Her parents staid now three years later here she was because her parents had died. If she didn't know any better she would have started to believe the rumors but she had been in that house while others had only seen a glimpse of the outside.

It was bittersweet walking into up the gravel path towards the front door. The gardener had done a wonderful job keeping up the grounds while Melisandre finished off her year at college. As she reached the front steps she took a deep breath. It had been three years since she had been back here and she didn't know what to expect.

"Ms. Melisandre welcome home." Wilson the butler answered as he closed the door behind her and took her coat. Wilson looked the same to  
Melisandre he was still balding on the top of his head and he had just a little bit of grey in his hair. She smiled at him and walked upstairs to her old room. It was the only room on the third floor. It had a long hallway with a floor to wall painting of a man on a horse with only one leg. She would always look at the picture.

***

Well into the night Melisandre laid in her bed looking around the room, they hadn't changed her room a bit. She hadn't been able to bring herself to go their room. It hadn't been that long since that had passed away and what she heard it had happened in there. She just wasn't ready to face all that pain. Melisandre closed her eyes hoping that she would be able to fall asleep. She tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. Finally she  
decided that she was going to get up and walk around until she got restless.

As she stepped into the hallway she felt the sudden urge to go look at that painting. So many times when she first moved her parents had found her  
asleep in front of it because she would stare at for hours.

She ran her fingers over the trim of the painting when she felt it start to give away. She pulled her hand back. Why was the picture coming off the wall? It had never done that before. She second guessed herself for a second before she decided to pull it off the wall. She pulled with all her might and finally with a pop a gust of air came out. The air smelled out and moldy, she took a few hesitant steps inside then decided that she would wait till in the morning when she could go get a flashlight and ask the person who had been here the longest if he knew anything about it.

Tomorrow bright and early she would go find Wilson and ask him about the picture on the wall and if there was any secret passages inside the mansion. Melisandre wished she had known about this before she went to college it would have made living in the mansion more exciting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Freshly cut grass seemed to sparkle with life. The two newly polished fountains in the front gleamed. The rose bushes that lined the vibrant gravel walkway were trimmed hours before. The back yard pond had new coy fish brought in from Japan. The hedges on the maze were trimmed so they looked brand new. Tall evergreens surrounded the property. Ivy over took the three story mansion. The oak door stood at least ten feet tall.

The inside was made of the finest marble, high ceilings. The library to the right of the entry way was freshly dusted, the books hundreds of years old. The formal dining room was the only dining room in the house, and the kitchen was through a swinging door. The servant quarters  
were under the stairs. The stairs lead to the second floor and leveled out then started again to the third floor. On the second floor there was the master bedroom which was the size of a two bedroom apartment. It even included it's own bathroom. Then there was a study or office. There was also three more bedrooms on the floor just a little smaller than the master bedroom and two full size bathrooms. The third floor was only one bedroom that was bigger than the master bedroom, it had it's own bathroom as well. The room on the third floor connected to another room.

"The woman that is living here has allowed me to fix it up for viewing purposes." The realtor spoke to sixteen year old Katie's family.

"Wow that is a long time." Tucker Katie's ten year old brother said.

"There isn't anybody around for at least an hour." She informed the family.

"Oh that is fine." Katie's mom replied. The family had looked all around the outside and inside of the house. It was just deciding time.

"We will let you know tomorrow if we are going to get it or not." Katie's father told the realtor.

The realtor pulled Katie's parents' to the side, she wanted to speak to them privately about something of great importance. The realtor looked around before she began to speak.

"By law I am required to tell you of any past deaths in the house. I probably being going to much into detail about this but I feel like it is important for you to know before you make a final decision. The owner of the mansion, her parents were the previous owners. They passed in a freak accident. Everyone in the house was asleep. When the servants woke the next day they went about their business, when no one had seen the couple for half the day they decided to go knock on the door. The butler found the couple in pieces in the master bedroom. No one knows  
how it happened. This isn't the first mysterious death in this house. There are at least a hundred unexplained deaths attached to this house." The realtor whispered as she looked around as if she was expecting someone to pop up out of no where to get her.

Katie's parents looked at each other shocked.

"Thank you for informing us we will look it up when we get back to our hotel. We will let you know tomorrow what our plan is." Katie's dad  
replied, he grabbed his wife's hand and dragged her to their car. The kid's followed their parents without word. Katie looked back at the house as the car pulled away.

"I really like that house. There is something about it." She paused and looked back to catch the final glimpse of the mansion.

"It is like something draws you to it." Katie looked into her mother's face. Katie saw a glimpse of fear in her mother's eyes. Her mother turned back  
to stare out the front window.

"What are we going to do?" Katie's mother whispered to her father.

"Keep looking for new home, that one just is not the one for us." He replied not taking his eyes off the road.

***

Melisandre walked out the front door to the car parked in long gravel driveway. She was going to talk to the realtor about the family that was just there.

"Andy did you tell them?"

Andy looked at her sheepishly, "I have to by law I am sorry." Andy closed the trunk of her car.

Melisandre took a deep breath. Maybe this was a sign that she needed to keep the house. She just didn't know what to do. It was painful to keep  
living here but it had been in her family for hundreds and hundreds of years.

"Andy, if the family says they don't want the house please take it off the market. I guess the history of this house needs to stay in my families."  
Melisandre turned and walked up the gravel path to her home.

Andy the realtor took a deep breath, the mansion gave her the creeps and the less time she had to spend there the best.

Melisandre walked into her home and went to the third floor. All her thoughts were on the painting, she was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't even notice that Wilson was standing in front of the painting.

"About two hundred years ago one of your many great uncle's owned this house. Your uncle was known for being into creepy things such as witch craft, things of that nature. It is rumored that he had a magical box. In this box were seven balls each ball very powerful in it's own way. Two of your uncle's servants knew that the box was peer evil. So one night after everyone in the house fell asleep they snuck into your uncle's room and  
stole the box. It is also a rumor that they walked into the secret passage that is hidden behind this picture. If the rumor is correct there is supposed to be a evil demon creature deep in these walls. The creature supposedly protects the box and is waiting for the right person to find it and take care of the box."

Melisandre listened to the story with an open mind because Wilson sounded so invested in the story. Wilson saw this look of disbelief on her face  
but he knew that all of it was true deep in his bones he knew that it was true. There was an evil creature living there because he had seen it. Everyone in the house had been asleep except for him. For some odd reason he just couldn't sleep so he had decided to take a walk around the first story when he heard the picture frame on the third story give a little *POP*. He hid between the walk and a in table. The rumors of the monster filtered threw the servants mouth every couple of months. Wilson held his breath as the creature floated over the stairs into the master bedroom. He heard muffled screams, bones break, and what he thought was laughter. After it was finished it floated out of the room and stopped at the landing that leads to the first floor. Wilson felt like the creature was staring right at him. He felt like he was going to be next. The creature sniffed the air and smiled at him then turned and floated up the stairs and back into the secret passage. That was the night that Melisandre's parents  
were killed.

"I am begging you do not go in there. Just leave it alone. Get out of this house. Get everyone out before it is too late." Wilson pleaded. Melisandre put her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you but I don't believe in that kind of stuff. I will take in consideration what you have said.

Melisandre knew that tonight was going to be the night that she explored the secret passage.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

There was a chorus of rain hitting the window pane and the fire crackling. Melisandre smiled at herself in the mirror as she brushed her long dark wavy hair. She was waiting for the right time to go and explore. Melisandre knew that Wilson would also be up but sooner or later he would pass out and she knew that was when she would be able to go without any hassle. Melisandre knew that Wilson's intentions were good but they were annoying her. She felt a pull to go into the hidden passage and it was killing her to wait.

Finally it was time to go and make sure the coast was clear. She grabbed a flash light and red lipstick, she grabbed the lipstick so she could make markers just in case it was a maze in the passage she didn't want to get lost forever. Melisandre stepped out of her room and started walking towards the picture. She wasn't expect anybody to be out but sure enough Wilson was sitting in front of the picture.

"Wilson?" Melisandre whispered, she couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake.

"I am awake. I figured you weren't going to listen to me." He shook his head in disappointment.

"Sorry, I have to you, you don't understand." She couldn't explain the urge she felt she didn't even understand it herself.

"I understand, stubborn like your mama. I am going with you." He stood up, when he did Melisandre noticed he was holding a knife. Wilson  
noticed her staring at the kitchen knife in his hand.

"Better safe than sorry."

Melisandre nodded her head and went to the painting. She found the key to opening it very fast. The picture gave a little sigh as air escaped,  
Melisandre pushed the picture the rest of the way open. She turned on her flashlight and took a cautious step in. Once Wilson was all the way inside the corridor Melisandre closed the door. She noticed that there was a lever to open it from the inside.

Cob webs covered the walls, the floor was nothing but dirt, and bugs scuttled across the floor to get away from the light. Melisandre took out the red lipstick and put and 'X' on the wall. She held the flashlight up and they started to walk forward. The urge she had to explore turned into a pulling sensation, she knew she was close to whatever it was that she was supposed to find.

Wilson was huffing and puffing, it felt like they had been walking for an hour. Every couple of steps Melisandre would mark and 'X'.

"We are getting close Wilson."

Wilson just looked at her and shook his head. He knew something wasn't right about what was going in the mansion.

"Look Wilson... Above the stairs what is that?" Melisandre pointed the flashlight into a dark abyss and there in the light before the darkness was a box sitting there. Wilson took a deep breath. He had heard stories about the box that went missing from a previous owner. He had also heard  
rumors of what was in the box. Melisandre ran towards the box, this was it Melisandre just knew it was. She set the flashlight on the ground pointing into the darkness. Wilson just stood back looking around he knew whatever killed her parents must be in here somewhere.

Melisandre stared at the box it was dark all around her except the ground where the flashlight was but she felt like the box was giving off its own light. She smiled to herself.

"It's beautiful Wilson." She sighed as she leaned to grab her flashlight.

Wilson barely heard her he was too busy staring directly into a pair of eyes that were lite up by the flashlight. The eyes were staring back at him, his  
heart started pounding. He was next he just knew it.


End file.
